Former NFL Star Aaron Hernandez Found Dead in Prison Cell

After being acquitted for a double murder charge this past week, the Aaron Hernandez story comes to a tragic end. According to police officials, the former New England Patriots star was found dead in his cell earlier this morning (April 19), where he was hanging from a bed sheet.

Department of Correction spokesman Christopher Fallon made a statement reporting that the football player was discovered by prison guards at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley at around 3 a.m.. Hernandez allegedly had a bed sheet tied around his neck, which was hanging from the window sill in his single cell in the general population housing unit. He was then taken to UMass Memorial-HealthAlliance Hospital in Leominster where he was pronounced dead an hour later. Fallon also revealed that Hernandez attempted to block his cell door by jamming various items into it.

So far, authorities are investigating the incident, but have not discovered a suicide note, nor have they heard of any previous concerns of the athlete potentially taking his own life. Although he was just acquitted for double murder charges for the deaths of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado, Hernandez was still serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the shooting of Odin Lloyd, which occurred in 2013.

This news also comes on the same day that the Patriots are slated to visit the White House after their recent Super Bowl win.